Lot 230: Porsche 356A Cabriolet

There are numerous reasons why the 356 series came into being, and also why Porsche became a major sports car manufacturer; the main one is that Professor Porsche was very impressed with what Piero Dusio was doing with uprated Fiat parts in the construction of his Cisitalias. These were excellent little sports and racing cars and Dr. Porsche wondered if he could do the same with Volkswagen parts. The first 356 was sold in July 1948, and production continued right through to 1965 in various guises and with numerous engines. As the company's first production model, the Porsche 356 set a new standard for small sports cars and gained its laurels in all manner of circuit racing and rallying. In October 1955 the 356A model was introduced; numerous innovations came with this new car based upon the experiences of the initial 356 series. The engine, suspension and transmission were all updated resulting in a far superior car. Three body styles were offered, all built by Reutter in Stuttgart: the coupe, the Speedster, and the cabriolet. In early 1957 a second revision of the 356A was produced, known as Type 2 (or T2) as offered here. Originally sold in early 1958 in the United States the car remained in the US for most of its life until 1995 where it was imported into Europe. The car is described as being in excellent condition having undergone an extensive restoration which was completed in 2008. The extensive restoration took five years to complete by specialists in Holland. The body was completely stripped and sand blasted, the engine was completely overhauled and fitted with new pistons while the gearbox was refurbished with new bearings and rings. The chassis was also stripped and overhauled. Exterior trim detailing such as chrome work and rubbers were replaced, the interior was re upholstered and finished in green leather, with the elements kept at bay with a new mohair hood. Finished in white this 356 is in very good and is perhaps one of the best examples on the market today and not to be missed. Dieser Porsche 356 wurde 1958 an einen Kunden in den Vereinigten Staaten ausgeliefert und blieb auch dort bis zu seiner R�ckkehr nach Europa im Jahre 1995. Als Resultat einer umfangreichen Restaurierung wird dieser beliebte 356 als in exzellentem Zustand beschrieben. Diese Restaurierung wurde von einem holl�ndischen Spezialisten vorgenommen und dauerte 5 Jahre. W�hrend die Karrosserie sandgestrahlt wurde, wurde der Motor general�berholt und mit neuen Kolben versehen, auch das Getriebe wurde mit neuen Lagern und Synchronringen versehen. Auch an der Kosmetik wurde nicht gesprt, so wurden neue Chromteile verwendnet, die Gummidichtungen erneuert sowie die Innenausstattung neu mit gr�nem Leder bezogen. Ein neues Mohairverdeck rundet diesen hervorragenden 356 ab. Wahrscheinlich einer der besten auf dem Markt.